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December 7
Events *1724 - Tumult of Thorn - religious unrest followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities. *1732 - The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London. *1776 - Marquis de Lafayette attempts to enter the American military as a major general. *1787 - Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the US Constitution. *1815 - Michel Ney, Marshal of France, is executed by firing squad after having been convicted of treason for his support of Napoleon I. *1826 - Malacca High School (SMK Tinggi Melaka) is established in Melaka (Malacca), Malaysia. *1889 - The Gondoliers - one of the most popular of the comic operas created by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan - opens in London *1900 - Max Planck, in his house at Grunewald, on the outskirts of Berlin, discovers the law of black body emission. *1917 - World War I: The US declares war on Austria-Hungary. *1930 - W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts broadcasts video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers. The broadcast also includes the first television commercial in the United States, an advertisement for I.J. Fox Furriers, who sponsored the radio show. *1941 - World War II: Canada declares war on Finland, Hungary, Romania, and Japan. * 1941 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - The Imperial Japanese Navy attacks the US Pacific Fleet and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor. *1946 - A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta kills 119 people. *1949 - Chinese Civil War: The government of Republic of China moves from Nanking to Taipei. *1962 - Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils. *1965 - Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras simultaneously lift mutual excommunications that had been in place since 1054. *1966 - A fire at an army barracks in Erzurum, Turkey kills 68 people. *1970 - The first ever general election on the basis of direct adult franchise is held in Pakistan for 313 National Assembly seats. *1971 - Pakistan President Yahya Khan announces formation of a Coalition Government at Centre with Nurul Amin as Prime Minister and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as Vice-Prime Minister. *1972 - Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, is launched. The crew take the photograph known as "The Blue Marble" as they leave the Earth. *1975 - Indonesia invades East Timor. *1982 - In Texas, Charles Brooks becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the US. *1983 - An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in intense fog while the two airliners are taxiing down the runway at Madrid Barajas International Airport, killing 93 people. *1987 - Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss traveling on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself. *1988 - Spitak Earthquake: In Armenia an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale kills nearly 25,000, injures 15,000 and leaves 400,000 homeless. * 1988 - Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist. * 1993 - The Long Island Rail Road massacre: Passenger Colin Ferguson murders six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County. *1995 - The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched by [[Wikipedia:Space Shuttle Atlantis|Space Shuttle Atlantis]] during Mission STS-34. *1998 - Yachtsman Jesse Martin departs from Melbourne on his circumnavigation journey around the world. *2001 - John P. Walters is sworn in as the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). *2003 - The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. *2005 - Rigoberto Alpizar, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 924 who allegedly claimed to have a bomb, is shot and killed by a team of US federal air marshals at Miami International Airport. *2006 - A tornado struck Kensal Green, North West London, seriously damaging around 150 properties. Births *521 - Saint Columba, Irish Christian missionary to Scotland (d. 597) *903 - Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi, Persian astronomer (d. 986) *1302 - Azzone Visconti lord of Milan (d. 1339) *1545 - Henry Stuart, consort of Mary I of Scotland (d. 1567) *1561 - Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese politician (d. 1625) *1598 - Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian artist (d. 1680) *1637 - Bernardo Pasquini, Italian composer (d. 1710) *1670 - John Aislabie, English director of the South Sea Company (d. 1742) *1724 - Louise of Great Britain, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. - Claude Victor-Perrin, French marshal (d. 1841) *1784 - Allan Cunningham, British poet (d. 1842) *1801 - Johann Nestroy, Austrian dramatist and actor (d. 1862) *1803 - Maria Josepha of Saxony, queen consort of Spain (d. 1829) *1810 - Theodor Schwann, German physiologist (d. 1882) * 1810 - Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist (d. 1894) *1823 - Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (d. 1891) *1847 - George Grossmith, British actor and writer (d. 1912) *1860 - Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1947) *1862 - Paul Adam, French novelist (d. 1920) *1863 - Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer (d. 1945) * 1863 - Richard Sears, American department store founder (d. 1914) *1873 - Willa Cather, American novelist (d. 1947) *1879 - Rudolf Friml, American composer (d. 1972) *1887 - Ernst Toch, Austrian composer (d. 1964) *1888 - Joyce Cary, Irish author (d. 1957) * 1888 - Hamilton Fish III, American politician (d. 1991) *1891 - Fay Bainter, Academy Award-winning American actress (d. 1968) *1903 - Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician (d. 1987) *1904 - Konstantin Sokolsky, Russian singer (d. 1991) *1905 - Gerard Kuiper, Dutch-born American astronomer (d. 1973) *1907 - Fred Rose, Canadian communist politician (d. 1983) *1910 - Louis Prima, American musician (d. 1978) * 1910 - Edmundo Ros, Trinidadian musician *1912 - Daniel Jones, British composer (d. 1993) *1915 - Eli Wallach, American actor *1916 - Jean Carignan, French Canadian fiddler (d. 1988) *1920 - Fiorenzo Magni, Italian cylist *1921 - Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader *1924 - Mário Soares, President of Portugal * 1924 - Bent Fabric, Danish pop pianist and composer * 1924 - John Love, Zimbabwean Formula One driver (d. 2005) *1925 - Hernando da Silva Ramos, Brazilian racing driver *1927 - Helen Watts, British contralto *1928 - Noam Chomsky, American linguist and political writer *1930 - Hal Smith, American baseball player *1932 - Ellen Burstyn, American actress *1932 - Paul Caponigro, American photographer *1940 - Stan Boardman, English comedian * 1940 - Gerry Cheevers, Canadian ice hockey player *1942 - Harry Chapin, American singer and songwriter (d. 1981) * 1942 - Alex Johnson, American baseball player * 1942 - Peter Tomarken, American game show host (d. 2006) *1943 - Bernard C. Parks, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department * 1943 - Göran Lennmarker, Swedish politician *1944 - Daniel Chorzempa, American organist *1944 - Jamiel Chagra, American drug trafficker *1945 - Marion Rung, Finnish singer *1947 - Johnny Bench, American baseball player * 1947 - Garry Unger, Canadian ice hockey player * 1947 - Tony Thomas, American TV and film producer *1948 - Gary Morris, American singer and actor * 1948 - Mads Vinding, Danish bassist *1949 - Tom Waits, American singer, composer, and actor *1952 - Georges Corraface, Greek actor, president of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival *1954 - Mark Hofmann, American forger and bomber * 1954 - Mike Nolan, Irish singer (Bucks Fizz) *1955 - Priscilla Barnes, American actress * 1955 - John Watkins, Australian politician *1956 - Larry Bird, American basketball player *1957 - Tom Winsor, British lawyer and economic regulator *1958 - Tim Butler, English musician (Psychedelic Furs) * 1958 - Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (d. 1999) *1960 - Craig Scanlon, English guitarist (The Fall) *1962 - Grecia Colmenares, Venezuelan actress *1964 - Roberta Close, Brazilian model * 1964 - Tadao Uematsu, Japanese racing driver *1965 - Jeffrey Wright, American actor * 1965 - Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer *1966 - C. Thomas Howell, American actor *1966 - Shinichi Itoh, Japanese motorcycle racer *1967 - Tino Martinez, American baseball player *1968 - Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league footballer *1970 - Carmen Campuzano, Mexican actress and fashion model *1971 - Vladimir Akopian, Armenian chess player * 1971 - Chasey Lain, American pornographic actress *1972 - Hermann Maier, Austrian skier * 1972 - Tammy Lynn Sytch, American professional wrestler *1973 - Damien Rice, Irish musician * 1973 - Terrell Owens, American football player * 1973 - Fabien Pelous, French international rugby player *1974 - Nicole Appleton, Canadian-born singer *1975 - Jamie Clapham, English footballer *1976 - Alan Faneca, American football player * 1976 - Brent Johnson, Canadian football player * 1976 - Georges Laraque, Canadian ice hockey player * 1976 - Vanessa Lorenzo, Spanish fashion model *1977 - Dominic Howard, English drummer (Muse) *1978 - Shiri Appleby, American actress * 1978 - Frankie J, Mexican-born American singer *1979 - Ayako Fujitani, Japanese actress * 1979 - Lampros Choutos, Greek footballer * 1979 - Jennifer Carpenter, American actress *1980 - John Terry, English footballer *1983 - Fausto Carmona, Dominican baseball player *1984 - Robert Kubica, the first Polish Formula One racing driver * 1984 - Aaron Gray, American basketball player * 1984 - Luca Rigoni, Italian footballer *1987 - Aaron Carter, American singer and actor *1988 - Emily Browning, Australian actress *1989 - Nicholas Hoult, English actor *2003 - Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands Deaths *43 BC - Cicero, Roman politician and author (b. 106 BC) *283 - Pope Eutychian *983 - Otto II *1254 - Pope Innocent IV *1279 - King Boleslaus V of Poland (b. 1226) *1295 - Gilbert de Clare, English politician (b. 1243) *1498 - Alexander Hegius von Heek, German humanist *1562 - Adrian Willaert, Flemish composer *1649 - Charles Garnier, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1606) *1672 - Richard Bellingham, English-born Massachusetts colonial magistrate (b. 1592) *1683 - John Oldham, English poet (smallpox) (b. 1653) * 1683 - Algernon Sydney, English politician (b. 1623) *1723 - Jan Santini Aichel, Bohemian architect (b. 1677) *1725 - Florent Carton Dancourt, French dramatist and actor (b. 1661) *1775 - Charles Saunders, British admiral *1793 - Joseph Bara, French revolutionary (b. 1780) *1815 - Michel Ney, French marshall (executed) (b. 1769) *1817 - William Bligh, British naval officer (b. 1745) *1842 - Thomas Hamilton, Scottish writer (b. 1789) *1874 - Constantin von Tischendorf, German biblical scholar (b. 1815) *1894 - Ferdinand de Lesseps, French diplomat and entrepreneur (Suez Canal) (b. 1805) *1902 - Thomas Nast, German-born American cartoonist (b. 1840) *1906 - Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1833) *1913 - Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian Catholic churchman and last surviving cardinal of Pius IX (b. 1828) *1917 - Léon Minkus, German/Czech Composer and violinist (b. March 23, 1826) *1941 - Casualties of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor :* 1941 - Mervyn S. Bennion, United States Navy Captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1887) :* 1941 - Herbert C. Jones, United States Navy, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1918) :* 1941 - Isaac C. Kidd, United States Navy Rear Admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1884) :* 1941 - Thomas J. Reeves, United States Navy, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1895) :* 1941 - Franklin Van Valkenburgh, United States Navy, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1888) *1947 - Nicholas M. Butler, American university president, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1862) * 1947 - Tristan Bernard, French playwright and novelist (b. 1866) *1956 - Huntley Gordon, Canadian actor (b. 1887) *1960 - Clara Haskil, Swiss pianist (b. 1895) *1969 - Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (b. 1897) * 1969 - Eric Portman, English actor (b. 1903) *1970 - Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist (b. 1883) *1975 - Thornton Wilder, American playwright (b. 1897) *1977 - Peter Carl Goldmark, Hungarian-born American engineer (b. 1906) *1978 - Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist (b. 1886) *1980 - Darby Crash, American punk-rock lengend (b. 1958) *1983 - Fanny Cano, Mexican actress (b. 1944) *1984 - Lee Roy Yarbrough, American race car (Nascar) driver (b. 1938) *1985 - Robert Graves, British author (b. 1895) * 1985 - Potter Stewart, US Supreme Court Justice (b. 1915) *1989 - William Calhoun, professional wrestler (b. 1934) *1990 - Joan Bennett, American actress (b. 1910) * 1990 - Jean Duceppe, Quebec stage, television and film actor (b. 1923) * 1990 - Jean Paul Lemieux, Quebec painter (b. 1904) *1993 - Félix Houphouët-Boigny, President of Côte d'Ivoire (b. 1905) * 1993 - Wolfgang Paul, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913) *1994 - J.C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1939) *1997 - Billy Bremner, Scottish former footballer (b. 1942) *1998 - Martin Rodbell, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1925) * 1998 - John Addison, British composer (b. 1920) *2000 - Vladimir Gotovac, Croatian poet and politician (b. 1930) *2001 - Charles McClendon, LSU Tigers head football coach (b. 1923) *2003 - Carl F. H. Henry American theologian and publisher (b. 1913) * 2003 - Azie Taylor Morton, Treasurer of the United States (b. 1936) *2004 - Frederick Fennell, American conductor (b. 1914) * 2004 - Jerry Scoggins, American singer (b. 1913) * 2004 - Dimebag Darrell, Lead Guitarist For Pantera. (b. 1966) * 2004 - Jay Van Andel, co-founder and former chairman of Amway (b. 1924) *2005 - Bud Carson, American football player and coach (b. 1931) * 2005 - Lucy d'Abreu, was the oldest living person in the United Kingdom from April 2004 until her death (b. 1892) * 2005 - Rigoberto Alpizar, airplane passenger fatally shot by U.S. Air Marshals after allegedly claiming he had placed a bomb aboard (b. 1961) *2006 - Jeane Kirkpatrick, American ambassador (b. 1926) * 2006 - Jay McShann, American musician (b. ca. 1910) Holidays and observances *R.C. Saints - Saint Ambrose: Memorial *Eastern Orthodox Saints: Saint Aemilianus *US - Pearl Harbor Day (observance) *Colombia - Día de las Velitas (Day of the Candles): Festivity *India - The Armed Forces Flag Day External links *BBC: On This Day * *On This Day in Canada ---- Category:December